It might sound like a prison sentence. If you’ve been sent to Depression Rehab, perhaps you’re feeling like you’ve been sentenced to living at a juvenile detention center. But the truth is, it’s not that bad. Although it sounds like you should expect the worst, actually the opposite is often true. Let’s break this down a little in order to show you why Depression Rehab isn’t going to be as bad as you think.

First, the word rehab is a term used to describe healing from a psychological disorder, such as depression. In fact, the word rehab is simply a shorter version of the word rehabilitation. It means to rehabilitate or restore.

That means if you’re feeling depressed and if you’re experiencing the challenging symptoms of depression, then this could be a place to heal from depression. Depression Rehab could be a place to find yourself again, the you that you were before the depression set in. This could be the time in your life when your symptoms finally ease up and you’re able to experience life the way you used to.

Depression is what’s known among mental health professionals as a mood disorder. This means that it’s a psychological illness that affects our moods, feelings, emotions, and perception. Depression is a persistent experience of feeling down, despondent, or low. In order to be diagnosed with depression, there are some criteria that a person must exhibit. Some of these include:

• A depressed mood
• Irritability
• Guilt
• Loss of interest in activities
• Social withdrawal
• Suicidal thoughts
• Poor concentration
• Poor memory
• Indecision
• Slow thinking
• Loss of motivation
• Sleep disturbance – insomnia / hypersomnia
• Appetite disturbance – weight loss/gain
• Fatigue
• Headaches

You don’t have to have all of these symptoms but having some of these consistently can indicate depression. Yet, depression doesn’t have to be a curse upon your life. It can be the very means for turning your life around.

This article mentioned above that rehab means to rehabilitate or restore. To restore your psychological well being, that is to move out of depression and back to wellness, there might have to be some investigation to uncover what factors in your life might be contributing to your depression. Perhaps that investigation can best be done by a mental health professional, such as a therapist. And there’s a good chance that when you’re in depression rehab that you’ll be participating in therapy. Again, this is also an opportunity to facilitate healing. Therapy doesn’t have to be torture, if that’s what you’re imagining. It’s simply developing a relationship with someone who can help look at your thoughts and experiences and point you in the direction of healing.

Plus, while you’re in teen depression rehab, there are some tasks that you can do yourself that might facilitate your own rehabilitation…your own restoration. Of course, you’re going to want to follow the suggestions of your treatment team, but there are also ways you can facilitate your restoration by utilizing the suggestions provided below.

Get Good Sleep – Although this might be difficult to establish at first, if you can go to bed and rise at the same time every day, you might feel the difference in his or her mental health. Depression usually inhibits a regular sleep schedule; it will either cause little sleep or oversleeping. Yet, having a regular schedule can help with getting the right amount of rest. If sleeping becomes a challenge, remove the distractions in your bedroom such as a television or computer.

Get Enough Physical Activity – Physical activity can release endorphins, which alone help to boost positive feelings. However, exercise can also help with long-term mental health, including making new connections in the brain, which alone can facilitate enduring change. Furthermore, to experience these benefits from exercise, you don’t have to run three miles a day; taking a walk regularly can boost mental health.

Know Symptoms of Depression – Of course, another way that parents can be supportive is When you begin to recognize symptoms of your depression, you can do what you can to get the support you need right away. Knowing your symptoms helps create a system of support. As soon as you start to feel low or depressed, you can talk to a friend, get some rest, or take a break from work. Knowing your symptoms can help prevent depression from spiraling into a more serious condition.

Teen depression rehab isn’t a bad experience. It’s simply a time and place to heal from your depression.